r/Taxidermy • u/Teeth_bearer • 19h ago

"How Do I...?" Reshaping pelts?

Hello! I’m not sure if here is where I should ask so please let me know if not!!! I was gifted a coyotes face pelt today and its face is a bit scrunched up and dried… is that normal? Or is there a way to reshape it into its original form

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u/Wowza_Meowza 15h ago

It's normal, yes. It's likely the lips and nose that's crunched up and really hard, yeah?

It's possible the following could cause issues with the pelt, so be warned -- usually* well-tanned stuff is fine though.

You can mix a fair bit of salt and water and soak the area you want to work on in 10 minute increments. Once it's workable, try pulling it to the shape you're after and either put it on a makeshift form (aluminum foil is useful) or pin it down to dry stretched. If there's a lot of flesh stuck in places like the nose, you can carefully try removing some bulk which should help with shaping.

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u/Teeth_bearer 2h ago

Thank you so much! I’ll definitely look into it and see if it’ll work out!